


Mistress Mine

by IncendiaGlacies



Series: Dominatrix Verse [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Dominatrix!Gideon, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Handcuffs, Mild BDSM, Mild Sexual Content, Riding Crops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-11 04:17:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18422643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: “What was I supposed to do? Tell her, ‘oh this is my dominatrix, whose name I didn’t know but makes me call her Mistress and likes to tie me up’? Yes, that would go over so well with my heavily pregnant best friend. Brilliant idea!”In which Rip fake dates his dominatrix Gideon.





	Mistress Mine

**Author's Note:**

> At this point I've literally just stopped caring what people think of my writing. Enjoy 80% plot and 20% nsfw scenes.
> 
> Thanks to ams75 for editing!

Rip knocked three times on the door and shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. This was a stupid idea. He didn’t know why he had decided to come here. Just because he saw some stupid advertisement half drunk at a bar and suddenly he was texting a number and setting up an appointment and here he was. This was stupid. He pivoted on his heel to leave when the door opened, revealing a gorgeous woman.

She had striking grey eyes, long chestnut hair cascading in waves over her shoulders. While she wore a sheer robe, it did nothing to hide the leather corset she wore underneath. The corset covered her torso as needed, then had straps over her shoulders to her neck, ending in a collar. The bottom of it connected with thin garters to fishnet stockings and she stood on some of the highest heels he had ever seen. The only part that didn’t fit her outfit was the silver necklace she wore.

“Going to stand there all day or are you coming in? The neighbours will start talking, you know.”

Only then did Rip realize he was gaping at her, jaw wide open. He snapped it shut and took two steps inside, hearing the door close behind him. Rip stood awkwardly, turning in a half circle and taking in the flat. There wasn’t much personal touch and he wasn’t sure if she had made it this way for him or if she always lived like this and why he was thinking so much about it all anyway-

“Sit.”

He sat on the sofa before he could even comprehend what happened. She smiled at him as she took a seat on the arm rest next to him. Not warmly, but like he was a toy to play with.

“First time?”

He nodded. “I – I’ve never done this before – I mean I have with my wife – but not – not outside help.”

“With a dominatrix?”

He gulped and nodded. She ran a finger over his jawline. “Maybe I should go,” he whispered. “This was a mistake and-”

“Would it help if we talked about it first?”

He nodded sharply, unable to take his eyes off her.

“I’m Rip by the way. I – who are you? It – it didn’t say on the flyer.”

Something flickered in her eyes but she just continued smiling. “You will refer to me as Mistress in our sessions. Mistress G if we aren’t playing, but I will only respond to Mistress, understood?”

“Yes…Mistress.”

“Good boy. Now, what is it that you want me to do to you?”

He floundered, unable to voice any of his thoughts or desires. It had been so long since he had done any of this; been with a woman or even fooled around. Any of it felt like a betrayal to Miranda and he could never do that.

“It – it said no sex but you would help me live out my fantasies?”

She nodded. “Anything you want but no sex and no trying to pleasure me. Our sessions are all about you. Whatever you want.”

“I…”

She calmly took his hands in hers and brushed her thumb over his knuckles, it helped soothe him.

“Maybe it would help if you told me what you don’t want first instead. Your limits, likes, dislikes.”

“No blood. I don’t mind pain or humiliation, but not enough to actually injure me.”

She nodded in earnest. “What else?”

“And can we take it slow? It’s been a really long time since I’ve done this but I remember I like being restrained.”

“I have some handcuffs and some rope we can play with.”

“And…no kissing. Not on the lips at least and anywhere else that would seem…too intimate.”

Her gaze dropped down to his pants and she smirked, making him flush, but she nodded.

“I want to keep my ring on.”

For the first time she looked at his ring finger on his left hand and paused. “Does your wife know you’re here?”

“She’s dead,” he said flatly, waiting for the empty apologies and platitudes. But they didn’t come.

“What else?”

“My phone stays on, in case my son calls and if he does, everything is on pause or over depending on what he needs. I only have limited time when he’s at practices or when I can get off work anyway.”

“Very well. I use a basic colour system for safe words. Red means stop. Green means good. Yellow means slow down, you’re not sure how you feel about it. If you say stop or no, I might not listen unless I can tell I hurt you, so you need to say those words. I’ll be sure to check with you as we go along as well. And if you want to be gagged, well, we’ll think of more creative ways for you to tell me before we get to that point.”

Rip nodded. “Red means stop, green means go, yellow means slow.”

“Now then,” she leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “what is it you want from me today?”

“I want to be at your mercy.”

There was a spark in her eyes as she pulled back. “That can be arranged. Would you like to shower first or get right to it?”

“Just get right to it.” He had limited time as it was.

“Door on the left. Come on.” She stood up and took his hand, leading him into a small bedroom. Like the rest of the flat there wasn’t much to it except for the bed and a set of drawers. Gideon turned and faced him and dropped her sheer robe, standing in her full dominatrix glory.

“Strip.”

“I – what?” Rip startled, unsure of what to do.

She tutted at him. “The correct response is ‘yes, Mistress’. Now, be a good boy and strip. Don’t make me ask twice.”

“Yes, Mistress.” His heart pounded, half with nerves and half with the thrill of anticipation of what was to come next. He hadn’t felt this in a long time. He kept his eyes locked on his Mistress as he shed his outer coat, toed off his shoes and socks, and worked the buttons of his shirt. She yawned with boredom as she watched him and he picked up the pace, eager to please her. His shirt hit the floor, followed by his jeans and underwear.

Then he was naked and vulnerable in front of her.

She stepped forward and circled around him, dragging her fingers in a feather light touch around his body. She stood behind him, her hands grazing over his chest as she kissed his shoulder blade.

“My, you’re gorgeous, aren’t you?”

Rip snorted. “Hardly.”

He cried out in pain when he felt her teeth sink into his shoulder.

“That was a warning. You don’t argue with your Mistress, understood?”

“Yes, Mistress. I just – I meant – I’m rather skinny and hardly anywhere near comparable to your beauty.”

“Complimenting me will do you no good. I told you earlier. These sessions are about you, not me. Something to help you forget everything else in the real world. So, what do you want from me? What do you need from me?”

“Want you to use me.”

“How?”

“However you see fit, Mistress.”

Another bite and he groaned, this time more from pleasure than pain.

“Try again.”

“I – I want you to handcuff me, eagle spread. Work over my body with kisses, touching, biting, work me up and deny me release until I’m begging. Please, Mistress.”

“Little early for the begging. On the bed, lie flat on your back. I’ll get the cuffs.”

Rip did as he was told and spread his arms and legs out on the bed. His Mistress returned moments later, restraining all four limbs to the bed posts. He pulled on his wrists and ankles and found he couldn’t move. It felt perfect.

“Give me a colour.”

“Green, Mistress. Thank you, Mistress.”

She hummed and tied her hair into a loose bun. It upset Rip a little. He liked seeing her hair down. Then she straddled his waist and he forgot all about it. She hovered over him and kissed his jawline then down his neck, over his collarbone. It was the lightest of kisses and drove him mad with need already.

“Remember your safe words?” she whispered.

“Red for stop, green for go, yellow for slow.”

“Good boy. Now let’s see how long we can make you wait for release.”

She licked a stripe over his throat and nipped his skin softly. He moaned, wanting more.

“No marks, please, Mistress.”

“Want to keep me your dirty little secret do you? I understand.”

She became cruel then. Peppering him with only kisses, further and further down his body, far from anywhere he actually wanted (though he had already told her not to) and far less than he desired.

“Please, Mistress,” he said with a needy, lust thickened voice.

“Please what?”

“Need more. Please.”

“Oh, you mean like this?” She settled over his hip and sucked on his skin, nipping and kissing it as she went. Rip moaned with appreciation. Then her hand brushed over his cock and he felt himself vibrating with a need far greater than he had felt in ages. “Give me a colour,” she said, looking at him intently.

It had been a long time since he had done anything like this, felt this with another person. “Green, Mistress.” It was hardly anything, but that was what made it so amazing. He wanted so much more and she denied him everything.

She moved further down, not releasing her grip on his member, as she kissed his inner thigh. His leg jerked slightly, the restraint stopping him from moving properly. She smirked at him.

“Sensitive, are you?”

He groaned in response which quickly degenerated into garbled curse words as she placed her mouth there again, driving him wild with need and desire. Then she spent great time giving his whole body the same slow, torturous treatment.

“Please, please, Mistress,” he moaned.

“Please what?”

“Let me come. Please, Mistress.”

She hummed, looking over her nails in disinterest. “No. I don’t think so.”

He gasped as she stroked him softly. “Please, please, I’ll do anything.”

“Like what?”

“Anything you want. I promise. Please.”

“I want to hear it in your voice. How badly you desire release. So much so that I have turned you into nothing but a quivering mess. I want to hear you beg for it.”

“Please, please,” he croaked with a little whimper. “I can’t anymore. I’m begging you, please Mistress.”

“Come.”

He did in a rush. Everything that he had been denied overwhelmed his senses and he groaned loudly. His Mistress kissed his collarbone as he slowly came to before undoing his restraints. He panted as he laid there, looking at her in wonder as the fog of lust and euphoria subsided.

“Was I good?” he finally whispered when he could speak.

“So good, a very good boy.” She rubbed his wrists and found a blanket for him to cover himself. “There’s a shower through the door and across the hall. You can clean up in there when you feel ready and then we can sit and talk about what worked well and what we can improve on.”

The words all drove the real world back to Rip. Everything that existed outside of these four walls and he shook his head. It all hit him in a flurry. This hidden need and desire he had kept secret and dormant ever since losing Miranda. It felt like a betrayal to her. Especially how much he had enjoyed it.

“No, no, I think I’ll just go actually. My son, Jonas, he probably needs me.” He moved to pick up his scattered clothes and ignored her stuttered pleas to remain still.

“No, wait-”

Rip shrugged on his shirt and finished buttoning his pants. “I have to go.”

“It’s better if you rest after everything we did-”

“I’m fine. And I have to go. I’ll shower and everything at home before I see anyone. Don’t worry, I know how to recover.” He paused at the door and looked at her apologetically. “Thank you. I really – it was good. Exactly what I needed.”

“Do you want to plan your next session?”

Rip hesitated and shook his head. “No, that’s fine. I have your number…er – Mistress G…I’ll just…I’ll text or something.”

He cleared his throat and left her standing in the bedroom. Rip knew as he walked out it was best not to have any plans to come back, no matter how much he wanted to.

* * *

 

The phone buzzed incessantly for the third time and Gideon slid it off without even looking at the caller ID. She already knew who it was. She only had one friend that checked up on her, and Zari had been rather annoying these past few days. Gideon worked better alone. Music on, shades down, no people, and lots of snacks, a coder in her natural habitat. Zari couldn’t judge, she did the exact same thing!

Her phone dinged once more, indicating yet another text. Gideon yelled with frustration and slammed her laptop shut. She pressed her fingers to her temple and massaged it. She had to get this code finished by the deadline or she wouldn’t get paid. And she couldn’t do that with all the interrupting.

With a sigh, she put her chocolate and caramel drizzled popcorn aside and paused the movie in the background. She adjusted her glasses she used when working on the computer and picked up her phone. Clearly Zari wasn’t going to let her be any time soon. Except, it wasn’t Zari.

It was Rip.

Her new client for her _other_ job. The one that no one else really knew about. Sure, Gideon seemed sweet and innocent and a little overwhelmed at times, but as it turned out, she made a badass dominatrix as she’d learned over the years. A little out of practice after her little downward spiral, but it was good to get back on track. Besides, the bills weren’t going to pay themselves. So she had put out some hopeless flyers in some bars she used to frequent and somehow she got a client out of it. Rip Hunter.

After Rip had left a couple weeks ago, she didn’t think he would want to come back. Seemed to want to be anywhere but near her. She swiped the screen unlocked and looked at the text.

_Next week? Same time?_

Her heart hammered hard as she clumsily typed back a response.

_Yes. I’m available. Same price._

She waited two minutes but there was no response. Gideon put the phone down on the table and watched it go black as the minutes ticked by. She got up from her little cocoon on the sofa, refusing to even glance at it. No, no, she wouldn’t look at it. Her teeth nibbled on her bottom lip and she found herself pacing back and forth.

The phone buzzed and Gideon dived for it.

_Yes, Mistress._

Gideon grinned and squealed to herself. She had a job!

* * *

 

Rip laid on the bed, gasping for air after his latest climax. He pulled on his restraints and relaxed his body as he came down off his high.

“You were supposed to wait.” His Mistress’ voice was stern. When he opened his eyes to look at her she had a serious face on, her jaw set and her eyes prowled his body.

“Sorry, Mistress.”

“You don’t sound sorry. Did I give you permission to come?”

“No.”

“No, what?”

“No, Mistress.”

“And you did anyway. You were a very bad boy.”

“Will you punish me, Mistress?” He hoped he had kept the excitement out of his voice, but she smirked at him like she knew anyway. She always knew. That’s what made her such a good Mistress.

“Yes, I think you need to be punished, don’t you?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Rip watched as she moved off the bed and went to her drawer of toys. She hummed as she rifled through what she had. Rip craned his neck to try and see what she was looking for. At the same time, he admired how she looked in her leather corset, her signature fishnets, and high heels. It was tight fitting and gorgeous on her.

“Whip or riding crop?”

Rip swallowed roughly as his attention turned back to her properly. She pulled out the toys and held them in the air to show him. He eyed the two warily as the smallest flutter of nervousness built in the pit of his stomach.

“Riding crop.”

“Good boy.” She nodded and dropped the whip back in the drawer and came to straddle him as she undid his handcuffs. “Three lashes on your back, you’ll count them with each stroke. Rules still apply, say red if you want me to stop.”

“Yes, Mistress.” After being released he waited for her nod and turned onto his front, waiting for the pain to commence. She cuffed him again once he rolled over so he could feel the strain on his arms still.  His Mistress moved on top of him and he felt the lightest touch of her lips against his shoulder blades.

“Ready?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

She dragged the tip of the riding crop slowly against his back, marking and measuring it out. Rip shivered with anticipation as he waited for the pain. The ticklish feather light touch was driving him mad with want.

He hissed as the sting of the riding crop slapped against the left side of his back and pulled on his restraints.

“Count.”

“One…Mistress,” he added so she didn’t think he was being insolent. She did it again, this time from the right down so it crisscrossed with the first mark. Rip gasped and tugged harder, wanting to curl in on himself. “Two, Mistress.”

She hit him one last time down the center of his spine. He groaned at the pain and the pleasure it caused.

“Count,” she prompted.

“Three, Mistress.”

“Do you need to be taught more of a lesson?”

“No, Mistress.”

“Will you come again without my permission?”

“No, Mistress, I promise.”

“Good boy.” She bent over, and pressed her lips to the red marks on his back, peppering them with kisses.

“Was I good, Mistress?”

“So, so good for me.” She kissed the back of his neck and laid herself out against his body. Rip inhaled sharply as her leather corset pressed against his tender skin. He held back a groan, knowing that his Mistress knew exactly how much she was arousing him again. “I’ll get some cream for your back and then you can show me what a good boy you are when we try again, okay?”

“Yes, Mistress!” he said eagerly.

She nipped his shoulder, making him groan with pleasure, and kept him handcuffed to the bed frame. “So you don’t move. You stay right there and think of every way you want me to pleasure you, understood?”

He nodded mutely, his mind already filled with thoughts and requests. Rip heard what might have been a giggle, but barely even acknowledged his Mistress’ amused smile and kiss on his cheek before she left him. He was already lost in a haze of lust and desire for more.

* * *

 

Rip whistled under his breath and sorted through his wardrobe for a proper shirt. His back was to the door and he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone until he heard the gasp. He turned in an instant and saw Lily covering her mouth. She stepped forward and turned him back around, her fingers brushing over his back. He winced when she touched a tender spot and pulled out of her reach, jostling his shirt on.

“Rip, your back!”

“Don’t you knock?” he said sharply.

“Jonas said you were up here and it’s not my fault you kept the door open. What happened?”

Rip closed his eyes. Lily was always such a mother hen, trying to look out for him like an older sister despite the fact that they were the same age.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? That is not nothing, Rip! It looks like someone hit you!”

Technically, his Mistress had given him three lashes. And they weren’t even that hard. It had given him more pleasure than pain. He didn’t know if it was because she was of small stature or if she was just that talented in knowing how much force to cause how much pain and pleasure. But it had been perfect. The marks had bruised over by now and were well on their way to healing properly. He knew she had given them on his back so no one would know, especially not Jonas. Well, no one was supposed to know.

“I fell.”

“Three times?” Her voice was filled with sarcasm.

Rip shrugged and finished getting dressed. “I’m a klutz. Now, shall we go? I have to get Jonas to school on time.”

Lily huffed and followed him down the stairs, wanting to ask more questions. For a woman five months pregnant, she moved fast. At least she had that much sense not to mention it in front of his son and silenced herself when they reached Jonas.

Rip pulled his son in for a hug and kissed the top of his head despite Jonas’ protests. “Ready?”

“Yeah, just need to grab my books. Hold on.”

Rip nodded and watched his son head to the living room. He heard the squeak of Lily trying to start her next lecture but threw her a sharp look. Not now.

Jonas came back in the room brandishing his book bag. “Ready!”

Rip smiled and put an arm around him. “Let’s go.”

“Oh, and Coach Lance said that it’s your turn for refreshments for next baseball game, that okay?”

“Of course. I was going to be there anyway.” But refreshments meant he would have to help set up and take down. “I’ll have to reschedule some things is all.” He pulled out his phone and sent a text to his Mistress, labeled as simply ‘G’ just in case someone (Lily!) went snooping through his phone.

_Can’t make it Friday. Jonas has a baseball game, can’t miss it. Have to help out._

It wasn’t until they were in the car that his phone buzzed again.

_Of course. Good luck to Jonas!!_

She had followed the words with a series of four leaf clovers and happy face emojis that made Rip smile. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lily’s questioning look.

“What?”

“Nothing. You just look really chipper all of a sudden.”

Rip rolled his eyes. “I’ve got my son and my best friend. It’s a good day.”

* * *

 

“Gideon? Gideon! Are you even paying attention to me?”

Gideon looked up in surprise and dropped her phone on the table from where she had been exchanging emojis with Rip. Somehow, she and her client had gotten into a war about who could make the most coherent text with only emojis.

“Sorry, yes. I’m listening.”

“What have I been saying for the past five minutes?” asked Zari while her fiancée Charlie snickered next to her.

“Um…”

Zari sighed and shook her head. “You always have your head up in the clouds, Gideon. You should sell the apartment. It’s too big for one person and you can’t afford it now that Waverly-”

“It’s fine,” she said shortly. Gideon dropped her gaze and pretended she didn’t feel her eyes stinging. Her hand automatically went to her necklace and started playing with it. “It’s my home. I’m not ready to leave it yet. Not my fault you abandoned me for your girlfriend.” At the time it had made sense. Zari went off to live with her girlfriend and Gideon asked hers to move in. Win-win situation.

Zari opened her mouth, clearly wanting to say more on the subject but Charlie patted her hand and she dropped it. “I’ll get us some more tea.” She stood up and grabbed the plates. “But we’re not done talking about this.” Zari gave Gideon a sharp look and headed back to the house. Gideon sighed in relief.

“So, was that a client or have you finally discovered the world of online dating and one-night stands?” asked Charlie.

Gideon blushed profusely and pretended to be fascinated by her scones. While her best friend still didn’t know about Gideon’s little side job, Charlie had figured it out within a month of dating Zari. And she had tormented Gideon with the knowledge ever since.

“How is it that you do your little side hustle with all that blushing?” teased Charlie.

“I’m good at what I do,” muttered Gideon, still not looking up. Her phone lit up with another message from Rip, something about Jonas getting an A on his test if she was reading the emojis properly. Gideon sent a smiley face back.

“Client or date?”

“Client. You know I don’t date.” Not since…

Charlie hummed and Gideon looked up at her finally.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Charlie shrugged innocently. “Just with the way you were smiling, thought it might be something more. Haven’t seen you have that flustered nervous look since Waverly made eyes at you across the room.”

Gideon huffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And like I said, it’s only a client.” Her phone dinged again.

“Are all your clients usually so chatty?” Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“He’s the first one I’ve had in a while. Might still be a little rusty.”

“Oh, a man! How exciting! Do you blush around him too?”

“Shut up! It’s not like that. He – he doesn’t even know my name. They never do.”

“And whose fault is that? When was the last time you actually let someone know who you are?” Charlie lectured. Gideon bit back a groan and dragged her hands over her face. “You’re always hiding from it. You don’t tell your clients your real name. You won’t tell anyone in your life what it is you do for a living-”

“It’s temporary!”

“And the jobs as a phone sex operator and stripper?”

“I had to make it through college somehow!” Gideon glared at her. “Not all of us wanted to drop out and do whatever the hell we liked. Some of us wanted to make something of ourselves.”

“Yes, and what does the woman with a degree in computer engineering do? Work as a dominatrix!” Charlie raised her hands as if she had won the argument.

“It’s a side job, for now. Until I-”

“Until you make your own company because you don’t want to be a sell-out to one of the tech companies that bleed you dry. So instead, you whip people.”

“That is not what this is,” she hissed. “And since when do you get to judge me for my life choices-”

“Oh, I’m not judging you, honey. Far from it. Female empowerment, feed your sexual power, and take those wankers’ money while you’re at it. But let’s get something straight, if anyone’s judging or ashamed, it’s you. After all, you’re the one that hasn’t even told Zari what it is you do to make money when you need it.”

“She’s the closest thing I have to family. I can’t lose her,” said Gideon, weakly.

Charlie shook her head, clearly not agreeing with Gideon. “And Waverly? You two only broke up because you couldn’t be honest with her. Zari doesn’t even know why because you won’t tell her, tell anyone!”

Gideon looked down at the table, suitably chastised. Her phone lit up with the latest text from Rip.

“Client?”

“His name is Rip.”

Charlie snorted. “Now that’s got to be a fake name. You two were clearly match made in heaven.”

“Shut up,” she said without heat as she texted him back. Charlie looked over her shoulder to look at what she was texting.

“Eggplant emoji,” suggested Charlie. “Best way to get your point across.”

Gideon blushed horribly again and swatted her head. Charlie grinned and put an arm around her, their previous argument forgiven and forgotten.

* * *

 

Gideon was deciding what cereal she should get (her adult brain was telling her the boring generic cornflakes, but her heart was saying the chocolatey, sugary children’s cereal) when she heard a familiar voice. She paused and dropped the chocolate cereal into her basket and moved to the next aisle over where the voices was coming from. There, she saw Rip placing a box of cookies back on the shelf and berating the woman he was with.

“You cannot have that many cookies a day, it’s not good for you. And don’t you dare use the excuse that you’re eating for two. It doesn’t work like that.”

The woman huffed and Rip rolled his eyes and turned a little, suddenly locking gazes with Gideon. His eyes widened and Gideon was fairly certain she squeaked in response.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” she said hurriedly. “Your voices just carried and I thought it sounded familiar and I thought I’d come look and I didn’t mean to bother you and….your clearly pregnant wife and-”

“She’s not my wife. I’m widowed, I already told you that.” Rip cut her off shortly. “I wouldn’t lie about that.”

“Right. Sorry. I just assumed – sorry.” This was why Gideon never liked meeting clients out in real life. It wasn’t proper, didn’t make any sense. She squeaked, and blushed, and stumbled over her words. Nothing a good dominatrix would ever do.

Meanwhile the woman stepped forward and looked from Gideon to Rip suspiciously. “You’re dating someone?” She shrieked and smacked Rip’s shoulder.

“Ow! No, I – she-”

“She clearly knows who you are and you’re going to tell me she’s not your girlfriend?”

“I-” His eyes widened and Gideon shook her head but it was too late. She could pinpoint the exact moment Rip decided to go along with this lie. “I mean – yes? But it’s new, and I didn’t tell Jonas yet and-”

“You’re dating again!” She shrieked again and tried to hug Rip as best she could with her protruding belly in the way. “Oh Rip, I’m so happy for you!” She let go of him and turned back to Gideon, who probably looked like a frightened woodland creature at this point. “I’m Lily, sorry, what was your name?”

“Um, Gideon?”

“Gideon!” Lily threw her arms around a very startled Gideon. “So nice to meet you. You have to come to dinner on Saturday, meet the family. I know it’s probably all new, but Jonas is a sweetheart and you’ll love him. You’ll come, won’t you?”

“Um – I-”

“She’ll be there,” said Rip. Gideon glared at him over Lily’s shoulder as she cheered and hugged her again.

“Wonderful.” She took the cart from Rip and headed down the aisle. “I’ll let you give her the details.” Lily winked at Rip as she left.

“What the hell was that?” Gideon hissed, stepping up toe to toe with him.

“I panicked!”

“You told her I was your girlfriend!”

“What was I supposed to do? Tell her, ‘oh this is my dominatrix, whose name I didn’t know but makes me call her Mistress and likes to tie me up’? Yes, that would go over so well with my heavily pregnant best friend. Brilliant idea!”

Gideon seethed. “I value my client confidentiality. Meaning I don’t give out my name, don’t see you outside of our bedroom activities, and I certainly don’t do family dinners!”

“Well, you’re doing this one. I can’t get out of this. She’ll be devastated and eat nothing but ice cream for the next ten days.”

“That sounds like a perfectly balanced diet to me, and also not my problem.” She patted his shoulder. “Tell her we broke up, tell her I moved away, that I was hit by a car. You can make it as gory as you like, as much blood and broken bones as you want. Just tell her I can’t come to dinner.”

“You look shorter than usual.”

Gideon blinked. Of all the things he could say to her tirade that was the last thing she expected. She wondered if she could only be taken seriously when she was dressed in leather with a whip in her hand. With a sigh she took in her appearance. Since she hadn’t been expecting to see anyone in her quick grocery run for essentials, Gideon had barely bothered dressing up. Hoodie, jeans, no makeup, and definitely no heels.

“It’s because I’m not wearing heels,” she muttered. “Besides, I can’t believe your real name is Rip. That you gave me your real name, who does that?”

“I – this is my first time doing this,” he hissed, pointing a finger between the two of them. “I didn’t know there were formalities.” He ignored her eye rolling and they both stood there awkwardly for a few minutes. “Please come to dinner.”

“No.”

“I will pay you double what I do a normal session.”

Gideon opened her mouth to decline again. Double a normal session…that was decent money, especially since she hadn’t had any freelance jobs the last week. “Fine. One dinner. And then we have a horrible messy break up after, got it?”

“Yes, fine. Thank you.”

Without warning he scooped her up in his arms and hugged her. Gideon went stiff as a board, unsure of what to do. This had never happened with a client before. None of this ever had!

Just as quick, he let her go and stepped back, awkwardly clearing his throat. “Sorry, I just got a little excited there.”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine. Right.” She looked at the ground. “Um, do you still want your session on Thursday?”

“Uh, yes, if it’s not too strange.”

“No, it’s fine.” Gideon shook her head and bit her lip. Rip looked rather fascinated by the different brands of cookies. She stepped forward and pulled a box off the shelves. “Here, give this one to your friend. It’s healthy but tastes just like chocolate. My – my ex used to get them for me, said they were better for me.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you Thursday, and Saturday for dinner?”

“Yeah. Of course.” Gideon turned on her heel and forced herself not to look back. She thought only of how much money she would be making this week and not at all about how many times she had blushed in front of her client.

* * *

 

“So, Gideon, what is it that you do?”

Rip choked on his water at Lily’s question. Gideon glared at him from across the table and Jonas and Jax simply looked at him in confusion.  Gideon kicked his shin under the table.

She smiled sweetly (innocently) before answering Lily’s question. “Actually, I’m a freelance coder.”

“Really?” said Rip. This time it was Lily who gave Rip a strange look. He cleared his throat and drank some more water. “I just meant – I could have sworn you were in another line of business when we first met.”

“Yes, well, I dabble in a lot. Client work mostly.” She smirked at Rip and he felt himself get flustered for some reason. Then Gideon turned to Jonas. “Actually, you know that game _Alien Invasion_ you have out in the living room? My friend Zari and I helped work on the coding. We put a secret Easter egg in the treasure chest in level 20.”

Jonas’ jaw dropped as he looked at her in amazement. “Woah! That is so cool! Dad, that’s so cool!”

“I heard, Jonas. It is very cool.”

“You gotta help me beat the Dominator on level 15. Jax and I tried but we can never do it.” Jonas gripped Gideon’s arm tightly and shook her a little, making her laugh softly.

“Of course, I’d love to. If it’s okay with your father, that is.” She looked up at Rip and he nodded.

“Wow. Being replaced as the coolest adult. How quickly they forget about you when someone new comes around.” Jax shook his head and placed a hand to his heart, miming being shot.

“Oh hush, you’ll get a chance to be another cool uncle with this little one.” Lily placed her hands over her belly affectionately.

“When are you due?” asked Gideon.

“Another two months if everything goes well,” said Lily, brightly.

“And your husband…” Gideon trailed off when she saw the slightest head shake from Rip.

“Not in the picture.”

“Sorry, didn’t meant to…” Gideon got up suddenly and picked up her plate. “I’ll just go put this away. Rip, do you want to help show me where everything is?”

He knew that tone of voice. That was her Mistress voice. Rip smiled at his guests and ruffled his son’s hair before following after her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to mess things up in there.” She wrung her hands together nervously. It was a far cry from the steady hand that held the riding crop during their sessions.

Rip took the plates and placed them into the sink and put his hands on her shoulders. “Deep breath. You’re doing fine.” He waited as she took three deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly. Once she finished, she gave him a small smile. He smiled back. “I was actually rather surprised you were able to come up with that freelance coder answer on the spot.”

She stepped out of his grasp and gave him a sharp look. “What, you think I can’t work on computers because I’m a woman?”

“No,” he said slowly, dragging out the vowel. “Because you’re – well – your other job.” His voice was low, simply a whisper.

“What? You think getting people off is the only way I make money?”

Rip got flustered again at the look she gave him. It was the one that she gave him when she asked him if he knew why he was being punished. Gideon smirked, noticing how easily shaken he was and stepped forward.

“I am a freelance coder, Mr. Hunter. I am brilliant and amazing in every way possible. Understood?”

He nodded silently.

“I don’t think I heard you,” she whispered in his ear, fingers curling around the soft material of his shirt, pulling him closer.

“Yes,” he said weakly.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Mistress,” he whispered before anyone could hear them. Gideon smiled up at him almost innocently. Good thing he knew better. “You have no right to do that.”

“Do what?” She kissed his neck gently.

“Be so sexy when I have company right outside those doors,” he hissed.

She stepped back and looked up at him in surprise. “You think I’m sexy?”

“I – well – when you’re like that – yes!”

“People don’t normally say that about me unless I’m, you know, wearing leather,” she said more shyly. Rip hadn’t realized how small she was without her heels until just then.

“What do they normally say about you?”

“That I’m adorable.”

He tilted his head and examined her. “You are pretty adorable. Sexy and adorable.”

Gideon was about to say something when Jonas ran in and tugged on her hand. “Gideon, you’ve got to come play with me! Please, please, please!”

“Well – I – do you need any help?” Gideon looked up at Rip to check.

He shook his head and waved a dish towel at them. “No. I’ll recruit Jax. Go play.”

Gideon grinned and ruffled Jonas’ hair even though he was basically her height. “Let’s go. I’ll show you how to get past the Flerken.”

Rip watched the two of them leave, somehow happy that Jonas had taken a liking to Gideon. While his son wasn’t too happy that Rip was ‘dating’ again, he had taken it in stride. It had after all been quite a few years since Miranda had died. With a sigh, Rip twisted his ring and turned back to the dishes, wondering if Lily was right with her nonstop coddling. Maybe he should start dating again.

“Man, how does a guy like you get a girl like that?”

Rip was pulled out from his thoughts and turned to give Jax a wry smile. He tossed him a dish towel, the universal sign to help out. “Pure luck combined with my British charm and dry wit.”

Jax gave a low whistle. “Well, clearly you’ve got something I don’t. You need to teach me your skills.”

Rip laughed and shoved him. “After you help with the dishes I’ll tell you all about my hot new girlfriend.” The words rolled off his tongue.

Jax rolled his eyes but set to work. An hour later the dishes and dessert were all done and Rip was trying (and somewhat failing) to get Lily out his door.

“She’s really great. Really, really great.”

“Yes, I heard you the first three times.” Rip wondered exactly how bad it would be to shut the door on his pregnant best friend. Would that really put him out of the running for being godfather? “Lily, Jax has had the car running for the past five minutes. You need to go.”

“Okay, okay. Just give Jonas my love and tell Gideon I can’t wait to see her again.” Lily ducked in and kissed his cheek before heading to the car.

Rip waited until the car had gone down the street and turned the corner before closing the door with a sigh. He rested his eyes for only a second before heading to the living room. Now for the second part of ending the night.

“All right you two,” he announced, standing in front of the TV screen and ignoring their groans. “That’s enough. Jonas, it’s bedtime.”

“But-”

“No buts. I’m sure the flurgun-”

“Flerken!” they both corrected at once.

“Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.”

“Or whenever Gideon comes back, right?” Jonas looked at Gideon expectantly.

Her eyes widened and she stumbled over her words. “I – um – sure?”

“Awesome.” He gave Gideon a quick hug which she barely had a chance to respond to. When she finally realized what was happening Jonas was already heading upstairs.

“I’m just going to make sure he gets to bed okay before coming back down.” Rip nodded at her and went upstairs as well and  knocked on his son’s door before opening it. Jonas was already dressed for bed and fluffing up his pillows. “Just thought I’d check on you.”

“You know I’m too old for you to tuck me in, right?” the thirteen-year old told him.

“Yes, I’m well aware. You squashed that part of my happiness a long time ago.”

Very much like Rip, Jonas rolled his eyes sarcastically and took a seat on his bed. “What’s up, Dad?”

“Nothing, just wanted to check on you.” Rip took a seat next to his son. Pretty soon he’d be all grown up and wouldn’t want anything to do with his dad in his teenage years.

“I like Gideon, if that’s what you’re worried about. I know I didn’t take it that great when you told me, but you’ve never really dated before. It was weird. But Gideon’s cool.”

“Good. That’s good.” Too bad he wasn’t actually dating her.

“You’re going to keep seeing her, right?”

For their normal sessions, yes. “I think so,” he said vaguely. It cost him enough just to get her over here the first time, Rip didn’t know if he could keep paying to keep up the façade. “We’ll see.”

“I hope you do. I like her.”

“Yeah, ‘she’s cool’. I heard.” Rip ruffled Jonas’ hair one last time as his son swatted him away and kissed his forehead. “Good night, Jonas. I love you.”

“Love you too, dad.”

Rip turned off the light and closed the door before going downstairs again. He found Gideon sitting quietly, tugging and playing with her necklace. Rip took the seat next to her.

“Thank you for doing this,” he said for the umpteenth time since she’d agreed to it.

Gideon rolled her eyes, straightening herself up when he sat down. “It’s not all out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Because I’m paying you?”

“Yes. And because you’re going to do the same for me.”

“What?”

“I have friends too, you know. And I need to get them off my case. You’re going to be my fake boyfriend, got it?”

“I’m paying you. We’re even.”

“Oh, you’ll want to do this.” Her voice got soft, her fingertips grazing over the length of his arm. The same way it did when she told him all the lurid plans she had for him over the course of their session.

“Why?”

“Because I’ll give you a free quickie.”

“What?”

“Everyone’s gone, right?” At his nod, Gideon moved the pillows aside and straddled him, her hand going straight to the fly of his jeans.

“Gideon!” he hissed.

“Mistress,” she corrected him.

“Jonas is upstairs, sleeping.”

“Then you’ll have to be extra quiet, won’t you?” she murmured in his ear as she unzipped him and palmed him through his underwear. He whimpered in response as she started kissing his jaw. Lips were off limits, but everywhere else was as good as fair game. “Colour?” she asked, just to check.

“Green.”

“Hold me,” she commanded. Automatically his hands went to her hips and she started stroking him gently. She grinned wickedly when she saw him bite his lips and tilt his head back. She kissed him down the column of his throat, paying extra attention to his Adam’s apple as it bobbed with his nervous swallow. He grew more excited in her grip and she pressed closer to kiss his nose, stroking him eagerly.

“Are you close?” she whispered in his ear. He nodded sharply and she gripped him tighter. “Not until I say so.”

“Yes, Mistress,” he answered roughly. His eyes were deeply hooded with lust and desire as he looked at her. It was a look that made Gideon’s heart thump harder. Two more pumps of her hand and he groaned softly, unable to hold it in.

“Come,” she said before her brain could catch up.

He came with a stifled moan, biting his lip and squeezing her hips. She kissed his cheeks and stroked his hair back.

“Such a good boy. You made your Mistress very happy. Did I make you happy too?”

He nodded, still catching his breath. Gideon gave him a few more minutes to calm down before moving off him and zipping him up properly.

“You’ll probably want to take a shower before bed,” she said primly. Mostly she was happy that she had amended her previous mistakes of putting her foot in her mouth, as always.

He tilted his head to the side and gave her an amused look. She gave a shy smile back.

“So, I’ll see you next weekend?”

“Asking me as my Mistress or my girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend, obviously.”

“Mmm.” He closed his eyes, a small smile still playing on his lips. Gideon enjoyed looking at him like this, so relaxed and peaceful, knowing she was the reason for it. “Sure.”

“Good boy.”

* * *

 

The clang of the dishes next to him startled Rip. He turned to the side and saw Zari standing there with a hand on her hip as she gave him a once over. Sure, he had known it was coming from the moment Gideon had told him she needed him to be a fake boyfriend. To be fair, he had started this. Charlie had spent most of the lunch trying to make him squirm and Gideon blush with all her innuendos. Of course, it had taken a few minutes after introductions for Gideon to whisper in his ear that Charlie knew about their actual relationship and only Zari was in the dark.

So while Charlie made lurid jokes to make Gideon flush and try to get a rise out of Rip, Zari preferred to give him the third degree. He had for a moment, wondered if he should remove his wedding ring for this. But Gideon had simply rolled her eyes and told him to keep it on.

“I don’t want to have to lie to them more than I do,” she had said quietly. “So you’re widowed, a single dad. Doesn’t make you undateable.”

So he had kept it on and it had been a hot topic at lunch. Gideon stepped in plenty of times to answer questions as best she could. Of course, she wasn’t completely helpful. Rip wasn’t sure if it was her being his Mistress and trying to arouse him, or just her nervousness, but her hand had kept straying to his inner thigh during lunch, making him cough more than once and Charlie grin like a Cheshire cat. He’d have to make a rule about voyeurism if this kept up. Eventually he took her hand and kept it in his for the remainder of the meal.

Which led them to now. When the meal had finally finished and Zari had him cornered.

“You were married.” She crossed her arms.

“Widowed.”

“How long?”

“Seven years.”

“How many women since?”

“None.”

“Seriously?”

Rip cleared his throat. “Miranda was my first love, childhood sweethearts. My one and only. It’s hard to move on from that.”

“But you think Gideon is worth it?”

Rip didn’t think he cared for the challenge in her tone of voice. “I think she’s amazing.”

“She is. It’s just that very few people see that. And I want to make sure you realize just how lucky you are to have her in your life.”

“Believe me, I know.” He took a step back, a little intimidated by her.

Zari sighed and looked down. “Okay, I’m sorry. She just – her last relationship was serious. Extremely. She thought she was going to get married and then…”

“He left her?”

“She left her.” Zari looked through the open doorway where Gideon was nervously tugging at her necklace and talking to Charlie while shooting surreptitious glances at them. “Gideon thought Waverly was her soulmate, and then one day it was just over. Never explained why, just that it was. She hasn’t dated since. Not until you come out of nowhere all of a sudden.”

“I admit that it’s new but I have no intention of hurting her.” If anything, that was Gideon’s job as his Mistress.

“I know, just,” she placed her hands on his shoulders, “don’t hurt her. Seriously, I mean it. Gideon doesn’t let a lot of people in. When she does, she loves wholly and completely.”

Rip laughed softly. “No, sorry. It’s just – that’s what my wife used to say about me. ‘Bleeding heart’ were her exact words, actually.” He thought Miranda might have liked Gideon if they had met. Maybe liked her even more when Gideon dressed in leather.

“Match made in heaven then.”

“Maybe.”

He turned back to look at Gideon and gave her a reassuring smile that Zari hadn’t murdered him. Charlie winked at him and made the hair stand up at the back of his neck. It made his stomach churn that this woman knew exactly what he did with Gideon. But then he saw the smile that Gideon returned to him and it anchored him to reality once more, just as she did whenever she was his domineering Mistress.

* * *

 

Rip moaned and pulled on the rope that held him tight as his Mistress kissed his neck and brushed her hands over his body. He gasped when she nipped his shoulder, sure to leave a red mark for quite some time. She was different as a Mistress than when she was just Gideon.

“How is it that you can do this without blushing all the time?” he asked before he could stop himself.

She paused and stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“Well, I just mean, with Charlie, you blushed at like every other thing she said, but now, I mean, you have me naked and tied up and don’t have a second thought about it.”

She sat up and continued to stare at him owlishly. “I have you tied to my bed frame, trying to edge you on, and you want to talk about my blushing?”

Rip shrugged as best he could. “It was just a question.”

Gideon muttered under her breath and untied him before grabbing her robe and tightening it around herself.

“Hey! You didn’t have to stop!”

“Yes, I did. You weren’t treating me as your Mistress, therefore, playtime is over. Don’t worry, I’ll give you half off. I’m nice like that.”

“Well, we could finish our session,” he said quietly. “Aftercare is still a part of it.”

Gideon paused in tidying up the toys they had been using and putting them back in the drawers. “Yes, it is. Want me to hold you?”

“Please.”

“Please, what?”

“Please, Mistress.”

She smiled and took her place beside him on the bed and allowed him to curl into her body. She pulled the blanket snug over him, his head resting in the crook of her neck so she could stroke his hair gently. Gideon gave him a few kisses to the top of his head and he hummed blissfully.

“You never used to want to stay when we first started,” she said quietly as she held him.

“I know. It was – it had been a long time since I’d done any of this.”

“With your wife?”

He nodded. “Miranda. Felt like a betrayal to her in a way.” He touched his wedding ring silently.

“If it felt wrong, why did you reach out in the first place?”

“I was completely pissed when I sent you that first text, honestly. Went back and forth in the coming week whether I should show up or not. But I needed something, an escape from my life. Not that I don’t love my son and my job but sometimes it’s just nice to…just let go. And I couldn’t do it alone.”

She hummed in response, mulling over his words.

“Why do you do it?” Rip asked suddenly. “This? You help your clients experience their sexual fantasies, grant them release, but don’t you ever want to be pleasured as well?” His hand drifted over her thigh, higher and higher-

“Stop.”

He stopped and looked up at her in worry. She took his hand and simply held onto it.

“No, not from this. Having sex with a client, it wouldn’t be real,” she said quietly. “I want to make love. And besides, I had someone. When I was with her, just doing this felt wrong, like I was cheating, I can’t imagine taking it any further.” She tugged on her necklace.

Rip placed his hand over hers. “Waverly, right? She gave you this?”

Gideon nodded, hoping he hadn’t seen her flinch slightly at her ex’s name.

“You play with it a lot when you’re nervous or stressed.” Just like he did with his ring. “She meant a lot to you?”

“I thought I was going to marry her. Even took some extra clients to buy the ring and then – then it was over.” Gideon blinked back the tears. “She deserved better than me anyway. Not someone who kept half her life a secret. No. Waverly was everything good and perfect in the world all in one person, she was amazing.”

Rip wanted to kiss her suddenly. Not in the romantic sense, particularly, but how he kissed Lily’s cheek when she found out she would be a single mother. He wanted to comfort Gideon and suddenly realized that while she had kissed his body several times over the course of their sessions, he had never once been allowed to kiss her. And that thought just made him want to do it even more.

Gideon cleared her throat and wiped her eyes, forcing her emotions under control.

“It’s uncanny how you do that,” murmured Rip. “Just like how you turn off your blushing.”

“What is it with you and my blushing? People blush, it’s a thing. You and Charlie are just obsessed with it!” Of course, she simply proved his point as her cheeks flushed bright red.

“Speaking of Charlie, you know she’s been texting me? Though, I’m not entirely sure how she got my number.” He frowned at the thought.

“Block her. And don’t believe a word she says about me.”

“Doesn’t really talk about you, actually. Mostly it’s just swearing and eggplant emojis.”

“Block her.”

Rip hummed and didn’t respond to her words. It wasn’t like it was a command from his Mistress. “How much time do we have left?”

Gideon glanced at the clock. “Little over half hour. Want to try playing again?”

“Mmm, no. Just want to cuddle with you if that’s okay.”

She smiled and kissed his hairline. “Whatever you need and want.”

* * *

 

“Okay, we’ve got the car running, baby bag ready to go, Jonas is good for the night and – you are sitting. Just sitting there.” Rip paused at the doorway and stared at Lily. She shrugged apologetically. “It’s not coming?”

“I’m sorry! I really thought it was happening this time. I swear I’m ready to pop any moment,” Lily stared at her swollen belly as if she expected the baby to pop out right this second.

Rip sighed and took the seat next to her. “It happens. The amount of false alarms Miranda had...”

“A part of me wants to get him out of me already, and the other part wants to cross my legs and never let him go.”

He smiled, understanding the feeling all too well having watched Jonas grow up over the years.

“Okay, baby bag, car ready – and you’re both sitting.”

They looked up and saw Jax standing in the entryway awkwardly. Rip waved him in.

“It’s not coming now.”

“Seriously?”

Rip shrugged in response. “You’ll be the first to know when it happens.”

“Man, this is like the third time. You know what, next time you call me at one in the morning, you’re going to voicemail, Lily Stein.”

“But Jaaaax!” Lily whined loudly and pouted as best she could but Jax simply shook his head.

“Voicemail! Now, what is there to eat around here?”

Rip laughed as Jax wandered off to the kitchen in search of a midnight snack. Lily gasped and grabbed his hand to place it on her baby bump.

“He kicked!”

Rip waited patiently. Sure enough a few moments later he felt the thump of the kick. “He did!”

Lily grinned brightly at him and looked down at the hand she was touching. “Rip, when did you take your wedding ring off?”

He pulled his hand away like she had burned him and touched his ring finger protectively. “I must have just forgotten to wear it.”

“Rip…”

“I just…I thought I’d try…it’s been years…and maybe…it’s time for me to move on.”

A part of him felt bare, vulnerable without it on. He’d only taken it off a few days ago. First, for little things – cooking, cleaning, taking out the trash. Then he stopped wearing it for showers, one night, then two. And then he gave it a kiss and put it back in the ring box next to Miranda’s matching ring (he was saving it should Jonas one day want it) and closed it without looking back. It was still an adjustment.

Lily squeezed his hand tightly. “I am so proud of you. I think it’s great. And, I know you won’t want to hear this, but I think it’s what Miranda would want. She just wants you and Jonas to be happy.”

“Yeah, I know.” He swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Does this have anything to do with Gideon?”

Rip couldn’t answer. In truth, he didn’t know if it did or not. Sometimes he found his heart beating fast even when they weren’t playing, just when he would find her smiling, or with that adorable blush. Or when she didn’t wear her heels and couldn’t reach the top shelf.

“Maybe.”

“I think she’s good for you. And even Jonas likes her.”

That right there was what made it so hard, knowing he was lying to his son about all this. Perhaps one day, a long, long time from now, Rip would tell him how he and Gideon had actually met. No. Probably not.

“Hey, so I’m thinking about giving him a middle name of Michael,” said Lily, realizing he wanted to change the subject.

Rip felt his chest loosen with relief. “Oh? How interesting.  I was just going to suggest the same thing.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Attention whore.”

“Thank you,” he said, kissing her temple. “I’m honoured, truly.”

“Just don’t tell Jax yet. I need him at my delivery with you. Can’t have him giving up on me just yet.”

Rip laughed softly and held her in his arms. “Of course not. We’ll all be there to welcome that sweet little boy into the world.”

* * *

 

The first thing Rip noticed when he entered Gideon’s flat was that the door to the second room on the right was actually half open for once. The second thing he noticed was that it was another bedroom. And from the looks of it, far more cluttered than the rest of the flat.

“Ready for our session?”

Rip ignored Gideon’s outstretched hand and headed towards the bedroom. He was almost there when she popped up in front of him and slammed it shut.

“No,” she said sternly, a fire in her eyes.

“Why not?”

“You are supposed to be here for a session!”

“And?” It wasn’t like they hadn’t seen each other outside of their sessions. Not with both Lily and Jonas demanding to see Gideon again. And Rip keeping up appearances for Zari. At this point there had been so much back and forth bargaining and bartering sessions for dinners, Rip didn’t think he had paid full price for a session in quite a while.

“It’s personal! That’s my bedroom, my safe space.”

“You have seen me naked and begging in nothing but a collar as you spank me. Is this really worse than that?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

She muttered under her breath. “Fine. Just no comments on how messy it is.”

“Mum’s the word.” He pretended to zip his lips shut and stepped past her and into the room. Gideon tightened her robe around her leather corset as she followed him in nervously.

She hadn’t been kidding about it being messy. There were clothes on the floor and some on the bed, somehow every single one of them missing the laundry hamper in the corner. He thought he spied a takeout container on the bedside table.

But more than that was the little study area she had set up. Two monitors on the desk, a bookshelf that was really too small for all its contents, and the cork board on the wall was filled with little notes pinned to it. Some were reminders, others looked like bits of code, and still others were random doodles.

“Well, now you know what a mess my real life is,” she said airily.

Rip turned back to look at her. “You haven’t seen Jonas’ room. It’s far worse. It’s just...surprising. Given how sparse the rest of the flat is. Is it because you just hoarded everything in here?”

“No. When Waverly-my girlfriend lived here; a lot of the stuff in the common rooms were hers. And when she left, she took them with her.” Gideon sat on the bed and looked around. “And maybe I retreated a little. Felt like too much space without anyone here, a reminder of being alone.”

Rip rubbed his bare ring finger and joined her on the bed. “I know the feeling.” He nodded to the computers. “Is that where you do your work?”

“Not for my freelance stuff. But I’m working on a new game that I think I’ve almost got and it’s just easier to see the graphics on one screen and then the code on the other.” Gideon waved her hands animatedly as she began explaining in words that Rip couldn’t even hope to understand. After a few minutes she caught on that he wasn’t listening and blushed and looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Sorry, I just get excited.”

Rip shook his head. “No, no. I think it’s amazing. You look so happy when you talk about this, computers and coding. Like you’re glowing. You look beautiful.”

She blushed further. “Well, I have been called hot before.”

Rip rolled his eyes. “Hot, sexy, adorable, and very beautiful.” He wondered if she could self combust from the heat in her cheeks. “Why don’t you work with computers then? Instead of doing this?” He gestured to her clothing.

Gideon sighed. “I don’t want to just sell out to some big tech company. I want my own creative rights. I want to make something on my own. My own company, a product with my name, my logo on it. But it isn’t easy.”

“I know. I opened my restaurant when Miranda was supporting us. Gave me the freedom to do so and she supported me so much.”

Gideon’s hand brushed over his and he held onto it in an instant.

“I could make ends meet with Waverly’s help,” she said quietly, ignoring the dull pain in her heart mentioning her ex. “Not that I ever wanted to depend on her, so when I needed something extra I would hold a session at a hotel or the client’s house. Never here. This was our home. I never told her. And she would ask. All the little secrets built up and got to be too much for her. I didn’t tell her because I didn’t want to lose her and I lost her anyway.”

“How long has it been?”

“A year. Pathetic, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. You’re looking at the man that’s been widowed for years and his first foray back into the sex world is hiring a dominatrix.”

Gideon gave a wet laugh at that and found herself leaning against him for support. “We make quite the pair, don’t we Mr. Hunter?”

“Suppose we do.”

Gideon sighed and got up, holding out her hand again. “Ready for our session now?”

He took it in his. “Yes, Mistress.”

* * *

 

Gideon bit her lip, trying to concentrate on the line of code that wasn’t working. It was screwing over the entire program. She hit the delete key a few times and tried another command when her phone started buzzing.

“Hello,” she said distractedly. It was probably Zari again.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” said a distinctly male voice that most definitely wasn’t Zari.

“Rip, hi!” Gideon pulled off her glasses and placed them on the table and the laptop too. “How are you? How’s the baby? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Rip chuckled on the other end of the line. “I’m good. Just tired. I forgot how tiring newborns were. But Lily is really happy, and her parents are helping out tons.”

“That’s great,” said Gideon, softly. Then she frowned, noticing the echoing quality of Rip’s voice. “Where are you? Your voice sounds…I don’t know, weird.”

“Oh, I am hiding in the bathroom actually, so the acoustics are probably a bit off. Trying to avoid all sense of responsibility and the like. Lily’s downstairs with Jax and the baby. Jonas is fawning over little Ronnie. I figure that gives me about fifteen minutes of reprieve.”

Gideon bit her lip. “And so you called me.”

“I did. I – I was hoping you could distract me a little.”

She smiled. They hadn’t really had a proper session in a while, always getting sidetracked with one thing or the other. And then Lily had a baby and Gideon hadn’t heard from Rip in nearly three weeks. But here he was calling her for…a distraction.

“I can do that,” she said, leaning back on the couch and listening to his hum. “Are you touching yourself?”

“Not yet.”

“I want you to. Now.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Gideon strained her ears to see if she could hear him unzipping his fly or anything, but she couldn’t. She would just have to take him at his word.

“What would you want me to do to you?” she asked.

“Use me. However you want.”

“Mmm, well first I’d have you naked. Slowly, of course, I expect a show.”

“Yes,” he said breathily.

“Unbutton your shirt, get on my knees as I unzip your jeans. Get you a collar, maybe a leash too. Have you follow me around on your hands and knees. Make you my slave, or maybe my pet. Would you like that?”

“Very much, Mistress,” he said with lust.

Gideon could hear the sound of skin on skin and a quiet grunt as he pleasured himself. She checked the clock and saw they still had another ten minutes.

“And then I’d mark you.”

“Where?”

“Try again.”

“Where, Mistress?”

“Somewhere where no one could see, so it would be our little secret. Your wrists, collarbone. You’d be forced to wear long sleeve shirts until the marks went away. A constant reminder that you belong to me.”

“My Mistress,” he said in a strangled voice. “Please.”

Gideon glanced at the clock. “Fine, come.”

She heard a thump accompanied by a muffled groan of pleasure and imagined his knees giving out as he slumped to the floor. A part of her wanted to pull him into her arms and hold him, whisper how good he had been as he recovered. Instead she waited a few minutes before she spoke again.

“How was it?”

He laughed softly. “Needed. Thank you. Haven’t had a free moment to just…thanks.”

“Right, well-”

“I wish I was with you right now.”

Gideon paused and looked at the phone as if it had mistranslated Rip’s words. “Why?”

“Because then I’d get to touch you too.”

“Do you like touching me?” she said in a low voice.

“Mmhmm. You’re never naked though. Always have the leather on.”

“I thought you liked the leather?”

“Oh, I do. But if you were naked with me…”

“What would you do to me?” she whispered, heart racing suddenly. It felt like her body had a million lightning bugs flying through it, her palms jittery and sweaty.

“Touch you all over, kiss you too. Press you against the bed and hold your wrists down.”

Gideon bit her lip. “Touch me where? How?”

“Your breasts, squeeze them, take them in my mouth.”

“Yeah?” Her voice didn’t sound right and her hand had begun massaging her right breast on its own. She could feel herself growing wet with need and shifted her body so she could rub herself against her underwear. “Would you finger me?” she asked, her hand slipping under the waistband to do just that.

There was a pause. “Yes. I’d want to watch you lose control. I bet it would be brilliant.”

Gideon couldn’t respond, too busy trying to pleasure herself. There was a knock at the door and Rip’s groan (the irritated kind, not one of pleasure) that Gideon could hear from the phone.

“Sorry,” said Rip. “I’ve been found out. Maybe next time.”

“If you’re good,” she managed to say.

“I’m always good, aren’t I, Mistress?”

“Such a good boy.” She dropped the call, unable to say anything else.

She pressed a finger inside of herself and closed her eyes, imagining it was Rip’s instead. His fingers moving inside of her. Her breath hitched as she added another. She could feel herself on the edge, imagining Rip whispering in her ear, brushing his beard against her skin. One more finger…

She came like an earthquake inside of her, with a scream that she only remembered to silence with a pillow when she remembered she had neighbours. Gideon laid there, heart racing and feeling much more at peace than she had for ages.

It wasn’t until after she had cleaned herself up and forced herself to return to coding that she realized it was the first orgasm she’d had where she thought of someone other than her ex. And more than that, her first where she’d thought of Rip.

* * *

 

There was a knock at the door and Gideon ran to open it.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” She moved a stray hair from out of her face and opened the door to meet Zari and Charlie. “Hey, thanks for coming. I have some boxes over here if you want to help me with them.”

“I’m just really surprised you’re actually cleaning out,” said Zari, stepping inside and taking in the few piles of cardboard boxes.

Gideon reached up to touch her necklace and remembered it was gone, she had taken it off earlier. Moving on. This was what it was all about. “Yeah, well, it had to happen at some point.”

Zari smiled at her and gave her a tight hug. “I’m happy for you. Do you need anything gone from the spare bedroom?”

“Oh no, not that.” Gideon waved her hand and tried to not think about Zari’s reaction to seeing her pleasure drawers. “It was locked ages ago. I’ll deal with it later.”

“Okay, then I’ll take this first round of boxes down to the car.” Zari picked up a box and kissed Charlie on the way out.

“So, that’s where you do your little side business?” Charlie teased her and bumped hips with her.

“Shut up.” Gideon stepped aside and threw some more things into a box.

“So, is this about him?” Charlie crossed her arms and sat on the arm rest, eyeing Gideon keenly.

“What?”

“Your boy toy, Rip. Your client. All of this, it’s for him?”

Gideon’s heart thundered at the thought. “No, it’s just, I need to move on.”

“You take off your necklace that you treated like a wedding ring these past couple of years, cleaning up your flat, and the only new thing in your life is Rip. See a pattern, here?”

“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know!” Gideon groaned in frustration and pulled on her hair. “I’ve never had this happen with a client before. We have our sessions and that’s it, but not this. Not everything I’ve had with Rip. I mean – I – I’ve told him stuff that I barely tell anybody.”

“You’re opening up to him, playing house, meeting his kid, showing him off as your boyfriend, not to mention what you two do in the bedroom. Has it occurred to you that you’re basically dating him?”

“Briefly. And only recently.” She hadn’t stopped thinking of it since their phone call. What it would be like to be with Rip as more than just his Mistress, as his girlfriend. As the person that got to pick up Jonas from school when Rip was busy, to have Rip cook her dinner, spend the night at his house for sleeping and not just handcuffing him to a bed frame.

“And what do you think about it?”

Gideon bit her lip, unsure about herself. “I think I need help moving these boxes out, please.”

Charlie sighed and nodded, giving her a quick hug before taking a box. “For the record, I haven’t seen you smile or be this happy since you were with Waverly.” For once the name didn’t feel like a punch to Gideon’s heart. “Just some food for thought,” said Charlie with a wink before heading out.

It left Gideon thinking for quite some time after.

* * *

 

Rip laughed as he watched Jonas and Gideon play their video game. While Gideon had more skill, she took care to teach Jonas some of the shorthand commands and cheat codes. Jonas had just won the last level using what Gideon had taught him and was cheered on by her.

“Oh, that was brilliant!” said Gideon, hugging the teenager tightly.

“Thanks, Gideon. That was super cool!”

Rip smiled as they discussed the next game they wanted to play. Gideon looked up at him once to ensure it was all right with him and he nodded in response. Over the last few months she had integrated herself so well in his life, Rip couldn’t imagine it without her. She was over for dinner every couple of weeks and helped Jonas with his homework when Rip couldn’t - especially the math. Gideon had even met Lily’s new baby. She fit in perfectly and Rip wanted to make it real so that she would always be a part of their lives. Well, if she wanted to, anyway.

As Gideon explained the objective of the new game she had bought Jonas (despite Rip’s protests that his son didn’t need any presents) Rip pulled out his phone and sent a text.

_Do you think Gideon would go out with me?_

Charlie took all of thirty seconds to respond.

_Fucking hell yes!!!_

Eloquent as ever, it made Rip laugh, catching Gideon’s attention. She hovered over his armchair and craned her neck to see his phone.

“What are you so happy about?”

“Nothing. Just a text.”

“Well, better not be a new girl. You’ve already got me.” Her tone was lofty and she winked at Jonas dramatically which made Rip nudge her playfully.

“Don’t worry, you’re my only special girl.”

He moved Gideon out of the way, missing her stunned smile at his words, and pulled Jonas up to help him make dinner. Gideon listened to Jonas’ complaints as his father dragged him to the kitchen and made airy promises of being in soon to help out

Rip waved her off. Gideon was not culinarily skilled. Her role in the kitchen was to eat the leftover cookie dough when Rip and Jonas made cookies together. It seemed surreal to her at times that she even had a role with them. That Jonas actually enjoyed her company and looked forward to seeing her. And she thought Rip might have as well. Gideon pulled out her phone.

_I was thinking I would ask Rip out on a date. A proper one._

_About fucking time!!_

Gideon laughed at Charlie’s words and enthusiasm, feeling more confident in her plans. She had already started carving out space in her life for Rip and his family. She just had to be sure of it before she said anything.

Biting her lip, she tapped out an email on her phone, one she had neglected responding to for a long time. The interview was a formality really, but it would be the first step to solidifying her relationship with Rip.

With a whoosh the email was sent and Gideon set off for the kitchen to join the Hunters.

* * *

 

Rip laid in bed holding Gideon in his arms. While she was still dressed in her leather corset her hair was loose over her shoulders and for once he actually had clothes on. Their session had long since finished but he didn’t find himself wanting to leave. Instead he stayed in her comforting presence. Which was good because it helped bolster his self-confidence. It had taken several more texts with Charlie (many of which were her swearing at him and telling him to get on with it) and talking with Jonas to make sure he actually liked Gideon, but Rip was ready. He was going to ask Gideon out, on a proper date.

“So, we have fun together, don’t we?” he broke the silence as nonchalantly as possible.

“I would hope so or I’m not doing my job right.”

“Yeah, but it’s more than a job now, isn’t it?” he said. Gideon stayed silent and Rip swallowed, forcing himself to follow through. “I just mean, you’ve met my family, and I’ve met your friends and I guess what I’m trying to say here is,” he took a deep breath, “would you like to go on a proper date with me? Like dinner or a movie or even bowling even though I’m terrible at it, but something outside of the bedroom that doesn’t involve us and sex toys.”

“No.”

Rip’s heart dropped and he tried to extract himself from her grasp but she held on tightly.

“No, wait, I don’t mean ‘no’ I just meant – I wanted to ask you first!”

Rip paused and settled back down. “Really?” he asked breathlessly.

Gideon nodded. “Yes, but I was going to wait a little bit. I’m – I am trying to get my life together.”

Rip frowned. “What’s wrong with your life?”

“Rip, do you really want to be dating a dominatrix? Have me doing these things with other men and women? And even if you did, you know it toes the line of cheating too close for me. So, I’m getting a job. A proper one.”

“Where?”

Gideon played with the soft material of his shirt, her necklace long gone to fiddle with in her nervousness. “Palmer Tech? They’ve been trying to get me for a long time actually and I just agreed two days ago. Surprise.”

“But I thought you never wanted to sell out to a huge tech corporation?”

“I don’t. And maybe this is a stepping stone on the way to one day having my own business, but it’s a start. And besides, maybe Jonas will want to come visit me at work some time. I mean, they’re doing some really cool work looking into 3-D immersive gaming.”

Rip couldn’t help but smile at her nervous rambling and how she thought of his son first. He pushed a strand of her hair back. “I think he’d love it.”

Gideon looked down. “And, I’ve decided I’m going to tell Zari, what I do…did. I mean, really it’s only been you these past few months-”

“Really?” he said in surprise. “I’ve been your only client?”

She shrugged. “I needed the money and you were the first to respond. Had a couple of others text me…but it never seemed as important.”

Rip’s heart soared knowing he had this special place in her life.

“Really I should have realized something changed when I didn’t even charge you for half the things we’ve done,” she continued. “But anyway, I was going to tell Zari the truth, and you don’t have to tell your friends or Jonas if you don’t want to, but I was wondering if you would like to be with me when I tell her? For moral support.”

Rip squeezed her hand. “Of course I will.” It would be utterly mortifying, but it was the least he could do for her. “I’m proud of you. Any other changes I should know about?”

“I’m moving out.” She hugged him when she felt him stiffen. “Not far, just getting a one bedroom apartment. If I’m not having clients there’s really no reason to keep this place besides nostalgia. Probably get rid of some of the toys.”

“Well not all of them,” said Rip, hastily. “I mean, we could still have some fun with them from time to time.”

“Would you believe I’m more of a fan of lace?” she teased. Then more seriously she added, “I’ve never actually dommed in any of my romantic relationships.”

“Excellent, then I can play Master instead.” He smirked at her, his mind running through all the devious things he could do to bring her while in charge. Gideon rolled her eyes at him. “What? You don’t like Master? How about Sir? Oh, what about Captain?”

“Rip.” She clenched his shirt in her fist and pulled him up flush against her. “Shut up, and kiss me.”

His heart stuttered at her tone, something so uniquely Gideon and Mistress combined, what with the way she blushed and how she bit her lip, and yet still domineering, commanding him with just her voice. And perhaps even more importantly, telling him to kiss her. Their first real kiss. It made his body flutter with anticipation for everything to come, opening this new door in their relationship.

“Yes, Mistress,” he whispered before pressing his lips against hers for their first real kiss. First of many to come.

**Author's Note:**

> One day I may expand in this universe...


End file.
